Keeping the Dream Alive!

ByChristine Brondyke

Big dreams are wonderful! You wouldn’t be a creative person if you weren’t using some of that creativity to dream up big, beautiful ways to get your work out into the world. Dreams give us something magnificent to shoot for—a goal, an experience, or an expansion of our current reality. Dreams are born out of our innate creativity. What we dream tells us so much about ourselves and where we are headed. Whether you dream of connection, fame, riches, accolades, inspiring others, or evoking emotion, your dreams are a part of your artistic palette; and they are as important to your process as practicing breathing, sounding, or writing.

So, what happens when your dream feels so clear and true, but it seems to be taking forever for it to be realized? How you keep going through one deterrent or rejection after another? What happens when you wake up and find you just aren’t sure if you have the energy to pursue this dream to completion? Do you get discouraged? Become negative or jealous? Do you pull the covers over your head and skip that audition or writing circle?

It’s normal to get discouraged sometimes, and disappointment can be part of the process because it provides clarity about your focus and intent. Sometimes it’s when you have lost patience that you insist, push, or find strength in your desperation. And it’s OK to let yourself doubt, to examine your dreams and make sure that they are still a fit for the person you are right now. There’s nothing wrong with amending a dream if it suits you better. That’s just smart.

Once you have decided, “Yes–I still want to achieve this!” (Or “Yes–I’m adjusting my dream to include this … ”) you may find renewed vitality for pursuing your dream.

One of the most satisfying ways to progress toward your dream is to find ways to have it right now.

Throw yourself into the next audition as if it were your dream job come true. Write a dialog that inspires you.

Pick a project or an experience that makes you feel rich or attended to. Play as though you have already achieved your wildest dreams.

Because in those moments, the dream is alive. And you will be, too! It is those moments that attract more of the same–more of your magical, passionate, creative, and beautiful dreams.